04 CTS-Tranny question
 

After being parked all night , for the first drive of the day the engine rev's on acceleration in Drive but no power goes to the rear wheels for about 3 seconds.
After this the car is fine for the rest of the day, has that instant " press me in the seat acceleration".
Any collective knowledge of this condition or symptoms of an impending problem ?????
Thanks in advance

cameron

add fluid.... best to have tranny fluid changed, and add a lucas additive. what are the miles, or Ks on the car??
rickyd

Has 74,000 km's on it or 46000 miles . Thanks for the input.
C

sounds like low trani fluid.

adding the lucas is also an excellent idea.


.

This is known as a "delayed engagement", and can be caused by several things, including low fluid level. The most common problem is hard seals, and torque converter drain-back. Does it immediately go into reverse? When the trans does finally engage, is it a smooth engagement, or does it "bang" into gear?

Thanks to everyone for their wisdom.
Car goes into reverse fine.
When the trans. does engage its abrupt but no sounds just a grab.
CTS in a caddy shop today thank god I bought the extended warrenty :)
Thanks again.

cameron

Please let us know what the find...or what they tell you they found, and what the fix was/is.

My bet is it will be a failed molded piston in one of the clutch drums.

Left the car overnite with the Caddy dealer. No luck in recreating the problem. recommended a GM tranny service, new filter, fluid and gasket. Nothing abnormal on the filter,360 dollars later and the delayed engagement was there this morning. Time for a phone call. Will keep the list informed. Thanks.

cameron

well, the low fluid aint it, going by the trani service and all.

boy oh boy, am i glad you joined us.
i dont even know what that piston is.


.$360 ?
i must be in the wrong business.



.

The piston(s) I speak of are what applies the clutch packs inside the trans. In most trannys, the pistons are steel, or aluminuminum, and they have grooves machined in them for seals. Then the pistons go into a drum,with a spring retainer to keep them in the drum, and then the clutch pack stacks on top of that. Most later models trannys have pistons that have a molded rubber seal made on to them, instead of separate seals/pistons.
With the molded rubber, when they shrink over time, they tend to not seal well until they get enough fluid pressure to expand. Then they'll be fine until they sit long enough to relax again.
The same issue happens on the normal piston/seal set-ups, but it's not as common. In the business, it's known as "Morning Sickness".

Another thing that could possibly cause the delayed engagement is the MLPS, or Neutral Safety switch. That will normally set a code, but not always.